sampan

American

[sam-pan] / ˈsæm pæn /

noun

any of various small boats of East Asia, such as one propelled by a single scull over the stern and provided with a roofing of mats.

sampan British

/ ˈsæmpæn /

noun

any small skiff, widely used in the Orient, that is propelled by oars or a scull

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Etymology

Origin of sampan

First recorded in 1610–20; from Chinese sān bǎn “three-plank (boat)”

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

A short sampan ride takes visitors across an eddy of the Shan Pui River.

From New York Times

Excursions include visits to the city’s famous floating markets, bike trips and sampan boat tours.

From New York Times

A boat of American soldiers taking the protagonist, played by Martin Sheen, upriver stops to search a Vietnamese family’s sampan.

From New York Times

In Abdulaziz’s images, there are fishermen and poachers, conservationists and polluters, huge transport ships and tiny sampans as slender and slight as river reeds.

From The New Yorker

Thousands more South Vietnamese took to sea in a motley group of boats, junks, rafts and sampans.

From US News

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023